Currently, two-conductor tip-sleeve (TS) and three-conductor tip-ring-sleeve (TRS) audio connectors, also known as phone plugs, are widely available as part of pre-made jumper assemblies and also as field installable connector/cable kits. Pre-made assemblies are of good to excellent build quality, but are not always convenient in length. Either they are too long and create unnecessary loss in a studio set-up, or they are too short and not repairable in a live performance or road set-up. Due to the long length of the head shell of the connector, the cable will be forced to have a tight bend radius, which can be inconvenient to use. Moreover, the diameter of the head shell tends to be too bulky creating clearance problems at the point of insertion of the plug into the panel. It may not be possible to fit plugs into consecutive or adjacent slots due to the large size of each connector. Field installable connectors solve the needs of custom preparations and make it easier to repair a damaged end, but they require clumsy set-screw connections, which often become loose over time and require bulky connector bodies to house the components, or solder, which requires soldering gear, both which can be a nuisance to use.
Another problem with current connectors, factory installed or otherwise, is that the internal wire terminations are two (coaxial) or three (triaxial) individual terminals requiring non-coaxial break-out of the cable end, losing any shielding benefits of the cable conductors being coaxial.
Additionally, the standard phone plug configurations do not always provide secure ground/shield contact, often relying upon the connector being pulled to one side within the jack. There are connectors available with a spring metal ring inset in the sleeve to improve contact, but as a separate part, it can create an additional point of contact that may become corroded or become separated due to misuse.
Currently, there are available preassembled coaxial cable connectors for use with F connectors, such as axially-compressible F connectors that are used to attach a coaxial cable to another object, such as an appliance or junction, having a terminal adapted to engage the coaxial cable connector. After an end of the coaxial cable is trimmed using one of several known cable preparation techniques, the trimmed end of the coaxial cable is inserted into a back end of the connector. Then, the coaxial cable connector is axially compressed using one of several known installation tools, and the coaxial cable connector and the coaxial cable become permanently attached to each other. Although such preassembled compressible connectors are known for use with F connectors, there are no suitable preassembled compressible phone plug connectors available on the market.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,774 is directed to a two-conductor cable and phone plug assembly that requires assembly of components during installation. The metal band that is used to crimp the shield of the coaxial cable is a loose piece that could be easily dropped or lost.
There remains a need to provide solderless connectors for phone plugs. It would be beneficial to provide phone plug connectors for triaxial cables that continue the triaxial relationship of the three conductors inside the connector. It would be advantageous to provide phone plug connectors with reduced length to reduce strain and stress in the cable during use. It would be beneficial to improve the usability of phone plugs in narrowly spaced equipment cabinets.